Sticks and Stones
by 1220McCormick
Summary: can be used to build a home, and words can change most anything. Bebe/Wendy
1. If I Stand Too Close, I Might Fall In

**Okay, so I know I have another story going, and ****I'm not abandoning Beside Me In The Morning, even though it is a huge mess, ****but I'm more excited about this one right now, so deal with it. I've been wanting to do Bendy for a while now, so I finally decided to just go for it.**

**The title and description come from the song "Rainy Day" by Zach Berkman. And the chapter title comes from "Stand Too Close" by Motion City Soundtrack.**

**I own nothing.**

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><p><strong>Sticks and Stones<strong>

**Chapter 1: If I Stand Too Close, I Might Fall In**

It wasn't that Bebe was fat. Bebe knew what fat looked like, and she wasn't it. It was just that she was well on her way to _becoming_ fat. She had wide hips and full thighs and big breasts and a soft layer of chub around her middle and on her arms.

It wasn't her fault. She just had the genes for it. Her mother was fat, however hard she tried not to be, and Bebe took after her mother in every physical way. Plus, she hated salads and she loved her carbs. And sugar. And greasy French fries. And all the other foods that Wendy and Heidi could enjoy without a second thought.

None of the other girls in her class looked like her. Wendy and Heidi could wear mini dresses and skinny jeans with little black ankle boots and look as if they walked straight out of Seventeen Magazine. Bebe wore wide-flared jeans and cleavage-bearing tops with structured, vertical-striped jackets to trick people's eyes into believing she looked like the other girls. Someday, probably in college, when she'd become fat like her mother, her camouflage tricks would no longer fool anyone. But she would worry about that when she got there. For now, she had to worry about surviving high school. About what people thought about her when they saw her enjoying a cheeseburger in the cafeteria. About waiting until the other girls were cleared out of the locker room before changing for gym. About what would happen when somebody saw her naked for the first time.

"Can you have sex with your clothes on?" she asked Wendy, as the two girls walked together to school.

Wendy pulled the cigarette from her lips. "What?" she coughed, blowing smoke in Bebe's face.

"Can you have sex with clothes on?" Bebe repeated.

"You have to take _some_ of them off. Not much you can do through all of your layers, is there?"

Bebe kicked a pebble off of the sidewalk. "I hate my thighs."

Bebe was the only virgin in her immediate group of friends. Wendy had lost hers freshman year to a girl from Littleton named Chantal, before she'd officially come out.

"Your thighs are fine," Wendy assured her, taking a long drag. "They're nice, in fact."

"I wasn't fishing for compliments, Wendy."

"Good, because I wouldn't bite."

Wendy flicked the ash from the end of her cigarette and blew a smoke ring into the air. Bebe wasn't a smoker herself, but she liked to smell it on Wendy when they walked to school together. She wasn't so fond of the orange citrus body spray Wendy would spritz herself with later to mask the smell. Wendy's smell, as Bebe recognized it, was India ink and pomegranate shampoo and cigarette smoke.

"These'll kill you, you know," Bebe informed her, snatching the cigarette from Wendy's lips.

"Fuck off, I'm trying to rebel."

"What for?" Bebe asked, taking a quick puff of the cigarette. She grimaced. She really wasn't a smoker. "You're already a lesbian. What more can you do to piss your parents off?"

"Whatever it takes."

Bebe coughed. "Are they weird about it?"

"Weird about what?"

Wendy snatched back her cigarette and took another drag.

"About you liking girls?"

Wendy shrugged. "Who knows? It's not like they talk to me, so who cares if they approve of what I do?"

Bebe nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets. "So…when did you know?"

"That I like girls? I don't know. I just _knew."_ Wendy flicked her cigarette to the ground and stamped it into the pavement. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "You're curious, or you're _curious_?"

Bebe rolled her eyes. "Not like _that_."

"Have you ever thought about girls?"

"No more that most people."

"And how much do most people?"

Bebe faltered. "You know, I don't know."

"Because if you're looking to experiment…" Wendy stopped in her tracks, grabbing Bebe by the hand and stopping her too. "…it might as well be with me. I am your best friend."

Bebe laughed. "What?"

"I'm serious."

Bebe licked her lips. "You'd be willing to be an experiment?"

Wendy shrugged. "Why not?"

Bebe took a deep breath and glanced around to check that the coast was clear. Satisfied with what she saw, she let out her breath, nodding resolutely. "Okay. What the hell."

Wendy smiled. "Good."

She stepped forward, so that she was so close to Bebe that their chests pressed together. Bebe swore she could feel Wendy's heart beating, but it could have been her own. Or both.

"Nervous?" Wendy asked, lacing her hands into Bebe's thick blonde hair.

Bebe swallowed, her arms circling Wendy's waist. "Why should I be?"

"In the name of education," Wendy whispered, before tugging Bebe forward into a searing kiss.

Bebe's eyes slipped closed as Wendy's lips moved against hers. She tasted like spearmint and cigarettes. Her blunt fingernails stroked Bebe's scalp, and Bebe thought, for a fleeting moment, that she might like to have them there forever, even if they rubbed her head raw.

And the next thing she knew, Wendy was pulling away and pressing on towards the school, adjusting her backpack as if nothing had happened. Bebe jogged to catch up with her, careful not to reach for her hand when she was back at Wendy's side.

"So?" Wendy said. "Experiment successful?"

Bebe let out a shaky breath. "I, um…"

"Just let me know," Wendy cut her off, bumping their hips together casually, "if you want to give it one more test run."

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><p>Butters and Heidi were already waiting at Wendy's locker when the two girls got there. Bebe gave them each a quick nod. Wendy pushed past them to get to her locker, not even bothering with a greeting.<p>

"Hey, Baby," Butters greeted, linking arms with Bebe. He always greeted her this way. They weren't a couple—Butters was openly and proudly gay—he only called her that because he knew how she despised pet names. Especially "baby", as it sounded like merely a mispronunciation of her real name.

"Hi, Butters," Bebe responded rolling her eyes.

"Hello, Bebe. Bebe's boobs."

"Heidi!" Wendy cried, whipping her head around.

"What? They came out and said hello to me first."

"Well, you could at least call them by their names," Wendy muttered, turning back to her locker to retrieve her orange body spray. "She calls them 'Sonny' and 'Cher'."

"That's right," Bebe agreed. "Show a little respect."

Heidi grinned. "Nice. Mine are called 'Wendy' and 'Bebe'. After my two best friends."

"What about me?" Butters protested.

"If I had a dick, I'd name it 'Leopold'."

"That's sweet of you, Heidi. I appreciate that."

"Anyways," Heidi said, sidling up to Bebe. "You know the only reason I bring up your boobs so often is that I totally envy you for having them. My mom won't let me have mine done. She says when I'm an adult and my body's done developing, I can do whatever I want to it."

Bebe glanced at Wendy. She wondered if she was going to say anything about the kiss. If Wendy wasn't going to mention it, Bebe certainly wasn't. She didn't want to make a big deal about it. Not if Wendy didn't think it meant something.

Bebe wasn't even sure if _she_ thought it meant something. Bebe was never sure of herself. Not like Wendy.

"For God's sake, Butters, who do you keep texting?" Heidi demanded, as Butters tapped away at his iPhone.

"My mom."

"My _ass_, Leopold. Your mom doesn't know how to text."

Butter's tucked his phone safely into his pocket, picking up his messenger bag from the floor and swinging it over his shoulder. "You coming to class?"

"Do I want to show up early for Slocum's class? No thank you. That woman's had it in for me ever since I mentioned that I was on the pill."

"She can't possibly hate you more than she hates Butters and me," Wendy pointed out.

"Whatever," Butters said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of their home room. "I'll see you guys in there."

"Butters! Wait for me!" Heidi called after him. She turned to Bebe and Wendy. "Are you two coming?"

Bebe glanced at Wendy, who was busy spritzing herself with body spray. "In a minute."

Heidi shrugged and hurried down the hall after Butters.

Bebe took a step towards Wendy, picking at her thumbnail.

"So," she began. "About earlier…"

Wendy placed her body spray on the top shelf of her locker and closed the door. "Yeah?"

Bebe swallowed. "Um…"

Wendy gave her a cute little half-smile and tilted her head to the side, so her black hair tumbled over one shoulder. "You wanna come to my house after school?"

Bebe nodded, grinning sheepishly. "Sure."

"Let's get to class."

* * *

><p>"Is it Craig?"<p>

"Nope."

"Stan?"

"Nope."

"Would you lie to me if I guessed it right?"

"Yep."

"Dammit, Butters. It's not Cartman, is it?"

"Sick, Heidi. Not even if his dick was made of diamonds."

"I imagine that would hurt."

"What's going on?" Bebe asked, sliding into the desk beside Heidi's.

Wendy claimed the desk in from of Bebe's, right in the front row. Mrs. Slocum hadn't arrived yet, but when she did, she was sure to convey distaste at having Wendy's shining face right in the front of the room, ready to learn.

Heidi slumped down in her seat, rolling her head in Bebe's direction. "Butters has a new mystery man and he won't tell me who it is."

Bebe rolled her eyes. "It's Kenny," she said simply, hanging her backpack on the back of her chair.

Heidi's jaw dropped. "Nuh-uh!" She turned to Butters. "Nuh-uh!"

"It's not Kenny," Butters replied.

"He's lying."

"Kenny's straight," Heidi insisted. "He was my first."

"I wouldn't announce it," Cartman told her, brushing past to claim his seat in the back of the classroom.

"It's Kenny," Bebe repeated, opening her notebook and uncapping her pen.

Wendy turned around in her seat to face the three of them, a condescending smile on her face. "If Butters wants to keep his new man a secret, that's his right."

Heidi slammed her palm on her desk. "Oh my god!" She looked at Butters accusingly. "You told Wendy and not me?"

Wendy grinned cheekily before turning back towards the front of the room.

Heidi narrowed her eyes. "Wendy Testaburger, you bastard. You beautiful, lesbian bastard."

"Why all the secrecy anyways, Stotch?" Bebe asked, leaning back in her seat. "Is he that hideous?"

"Yeah, actually. He's a Quasimodo." He glanced around the room, which was quickly filling up with students. "Do we have to discuss this in a room full of people?"

Heidi pointed a stern finger at him. "We will talk about this later."

Bebe peered at the classroom door just as Kenny McCormick strolled in. "Hey, Kenny," she said with a wide grin. "What's new?"

He stared at her, wide-eyed, like a kid who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. His eyes darted briefly to Butters before he ducked his head and hurried to a desk in the back of the room next to Cartman's. Bebe grinned at Heidi triumphantly.

"Shut up, Bebe," Heidi muttered. She glanced down at Bebe's chest. "Bebe's boobs."

Wendy turned around. "Really, Heidi?"

"I can't help it. I mean, look at them. And I'm straight."

Bebe blushed.

Heidi rested her chin in her palm, propping her elbow up on her desk. "Can I feel them?" she asked.

Bebe wrinkled her forehead. "Um, no."

"Can I just feel one of them?"

"No."

"Can I motorboat 'em? Just a little?"

"You're a freak, Heidi. Leave Bebe and her boobs alone."

"Skank," coughed someone from the back of the room.

Heidi whipped her head around. "Excuse me?"

Bebe peered over her shoulder to see Cartman glaring up at them.

"What's the matter, Heidi? Already fucked every guy in the school, and now you're moving onto the girls?"

"I never fucked _you_!" Heidi shot back.

"The logical first choice would have been the dyke, though," Cartman pointed out, leaning back in his seat leisurely and crossing his arms. "I didn't think Thunder Thighs was a lesbian."

"You know, Cartman, with all the effort you put into tearing people down, I'd have to guess that you're either a latent homosexual or you have a tiny penis."

"Heidi Turner!"

Bebe turned back around the see Mrs. Slocum standing on the doorway, a stack of papers in her hand and an appalled expression on her face. Bebe grimaced.

"What?" Heidi replied, spinning back around in her seat.

"Principal," Mrs. Slocum ordered. "Now."

"_What_?"

Bebe peeked over at Butters, who was chewing nervously on his bottom lip.

"I will not tolerate that kind of language in this class."

Heidi crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, which word offended you? 'Homosexual' or 'penis'?"

Mrs. Slocum pointed at the door. "Now."

Wendy stood up. "What is wrong with you?"

Mrs. Slocum narrowed her eyes at Wendy. "I'm sorry, Wendy. Am I not being fair?"

"Heidi was just defending herself. Or you just conveniently miss the part where Cartman called me a dyke and Heidi a skank?"

"Would you like to join her, Wendy?"

Bebe watched Wendy's shoulders rise as she inhaled slowly, then lower as she exhaled. She watched her fists clench and then unclench. Then, without another word, Wendy snatched up her bag and marched toward the door. Heidi sighed and followed her out of the room.

Mrs. Slocum fixed her stern glare on the rest of the class. "Would anyone else like to join them?"

Bebe looked at Butters. He met her eyes briefly and shook his head. She gazed back at her desk.

"Good," Mrs. Slocum said. "Now, will everyone open their books to chapter nine?"


	2. Waiting For the Hint of a Spark

**Greetings! I know it's been a couple of weeks, but I'm taking a lot of writing classes again this semester, so those are my first priority. Anways, I had all of spring break to write this, so here you go. I hope you enjoy.**

**Hopefully email notifications are working now. Fingers crossed.**

**This chapter title comes from "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie. And I don't own South Park.**

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><p><strong>Sticks and Stones<strong>

**Chapter 2: Waiting For the Hint of a Spark**

"Are you gonna tell me who your new boy toy is or what?"

Butters hugged his books to his chest. "No."

Bebe pouted. "Why not?"

"Because you'll blab."

"I will not!" Bebe pushed back a curl from her forehead. "What's the matter? Will Kenny get pissed at you if you tell me it's him?"

For as long as they'd been friends, Butters had been the kind of person who went out of his way to keep from pissing people off. It probably had a lot to do with his parents, who, even when Butters had done nothing wrong, managed to find trouble where there was none. He couldn't afford to cause any more than necessary. Being plagued with bad luck his whole life made this hard for him. Being born gay didn't help him any either.

Remarkably, though he'd been out to his friends since the sixth grade, he'd managed to keep his sexuality a secret from his prying parents until his fifteenth birthday. At the time, he'd been dating an older boy named David, whose parents were both Christian youth ministers. On Butters's fifteenth birthday—the day the students of South Park High would forever remember as "the day Butters Stotch was literally dragged by his ear out of the closet at his birthday party"—his mother opened her linen closet to find David giving her son a birthday kiss. The next day, David swallowed a handful of aspirin and was rushed to Hells Pass to have his stomach pumped. He was fine after a few weeks, but Butters never saw him again after that. David's parents had him shipped off to some Catholic boarding school in Nebraska.

Butters had made zero attempts at any kind of romantic relationship since David, which was why Bebe was so excited to hear all about his new boyfriend. She, Wendy and Heidi had all been waiting for the day that Butters's disastrous freshman year was finally behind him. Now, well into their junior year, it looked like it might be happening, though he seemed less than eager to talk about it.

"Just drop it, okay?"

Bebe huffed. "Fine, don't tell me." She came to a stop at her locker. "It's too bad though. I had a juicy bit of gossip to share with you, but…"

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "You do not."

"Oh, I do. And it's scandalous too."

Butters knocked his sneaker against hers. "What is it?"

Bebe turned the dial on her locker. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh. How do I even know you have a secret?"

"I do have a secret. And you were gonna be the first person besides Wendy to know."

Butters looked intrigued.

"Unless," Bebe went on, fiddling with the dial on her locker, "Wendy's told Heidi already. Then you'd be out of the loop, wouldn't you?"

Butters rocked excitedly on the balls of his feet. "Babe, you have to tell me."

Bebe opened her locker. "First, tell me if it's Kenny."

Butters set his jaw, looking Bebe up and down suspiciously, as if assessing her trustworthiness. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders falling. "How did you know?"

Bebe squealed with delight, dropping her backpack to wrap Butters in a hug. "It is him! I'm so happy for you, Butters. I know you've always liked him."

"I never told you that," Butters replied, disentangling himself from her grasp.

"I'm not blind. I haven't missed the stolen glances and longing stares…"

"Stuff it, Baby," Butters cut her off. "There were no longing stares. I'm not totally pathetic."

Bebe grinned. "I'm just messing, Butters." She turned back to her locker, rummaging around for a hair band. "But I could tell, you know."

"You could?"

"Of course I could. So why the secrecy? Don't tell me you're letting that boy drag you back into the closet."

Bebe saw a flash of pain in Butters's eyes, and immediately wished she could take back her words.

"Oh, Butters, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up…"

Butters cut her off with a shake of his head. "I know you weren't talking about _that_." He licked his lips. "Enough about me anyways. What about you? You promised me a juicy secret."

"That I did."

"So?" Butters said, leaning against the locker next to Bebe's. "Fill me in."

Bebe reached into her locker, locating a hair band among the abandoned pencils and graded assignments. She slipped the band around her wrist, reaching up to push back the thick mess of blonde curls on her head.

"Come on. Spill it out," Butters urged.

Bebe tied back her hair, giving it a final tightening tug before swinging her locker closed. She beckoned Butters toward herself with one finger, and he leaned in closer.

"Wendy and I kissed," she whispered.

"What?" Butters pushed himself off the row of lockers excitedly. "Are you serious?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Well, what happened? Did you kiss her or did she kiss you?"

Bebe frowned, thoughtfully. "Well, both, I think." She bent down to pick up her discarded bag. "But, to be honest, I think she was doing most of the work."

"Did you like it?"

Bebe blushed. She nodded, biting her lips to keep herself from grinning.

"Right. Well. Just be careful."

Bebe raised an eyebrow. "Butters, it's _Wendy_. My best friend. What do you think she's gonna do to me?"

"It's not what Wendy's gonna do to you. It's what _everyone else_ is gonna to do you if they find out you like kissing girls."

Bebe smiled sympathetically. Since his forced coming out, their classmates had done nothing to make things easy on Butters. What with his parents' disapproval, his boyfriend's suicide attempt and the constant torments from some of his former friends, Butters's freshman year had been dismal at best.

By comparison, Wendy's coming out had been a walk in the park, but Butters had been protective of his as well. Not that she needed it.

Bebe bit her lip at the memory of Wendy's coming out. She knew it hadn't been _easy_ for Wendy, but Wendy'd made it seem that way. She'd held her head high, no matter what insults were thrown her way. Bebe wondered if she'd be able to do the same, if word got out that _she _was a lesbian.

Not that she was. Bebe didn't know _what_ she was. She knew she liked kissing Wendy, but she wasn't sure what that meant. She didn't know what Wendy thought it meant either, which, somehow, was even more troubling than Bebe's confusion about her own sexuality.

"I wouldn't worry about that just yet. The kiss may lead to nothing. Wendy and I haven't even talked about what it meant yet."

Butters gave her a half-smile, and Bebe knew he understood.

"Speaking of Wendy…" Butters nodded toward the approaching figures of Wendy and Heidi.

Bebe's stomach did a flip as she watched the two of them draw nearer.

Heidi was the first to reach them. She squeezed between Bebe and Butters, slinging her arms over their shoulders. "So what's the deal?" she asked. "Am I the only hetero in the group now?"

Bebe rolled her eyes at Wendy, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole thing. "You told Heidi?"

"You told Butters?" Wendy countered.

"Touché."

Of course Wendy knew, without any confirmation from Butters, that Bebe had told him. She'd never been able to keep anything from Butters.

"How was Neilson's office?" Butters asked, and Bebe was grateful for the change of subject.

"He was delighted to see us, as usual," Wendy replied.

Heidi sighed. "He was all, 'Why is it always the two of you?' He refuses to believe that Mrs. Slocum just hates us."

Butters shrugged. "Well, if he believed every student who told him a teacher just hates them…"

"Well, if someone would come to our _defense_ for once…" Heidi sent pointed looks at Bebe and Butters.

"You know I can't," Butters replied. "If I get into trouble, I'll be right back on my parents' bad side. Well, their _worse_ side."

Wendy waved her hand dismissively. "It wouldn't do any good anyways. Principal Neilson lives in a fantasy world where teachers can do no wrong and anything we say against them is a cry for attention. He'll never take anything we say seriously."

"Did you get punished?" Bebe asked.

Wendy shook her head. "He's just gonna call my mom, and God knows she's not gonna confront me about it."

"Then I say we count our losses and move on."

"That's easy for you to say," Heidi grunted.

Bebe didn't reply, because it was true. It was easy for her to say, because she'd never been in any kind of trouble. She tried to avoid it, if she could. Bebe was like Butters in that way. She liked to play things safe.

That might not have been an option for her anymore, though. She'd kissed Wendy that morning, and she had the sinking feeling that, one way or another, it would change things between them. And the safe, steady world she'd constructed for herself was about to come crumbling down.

* * *

><p>Bebe leaned against the wall of the Pump 'n' Go, tipping back her head to rest it against the dirty red bricks, next to the "Free Air" sign.<p>

"Wendy?"

"Yeah?"

Wendy dragged her boot in a wide-swinging half-circle around herself, leaving a muddy streak in the slush on the sidewalk.

"Why did you kiss me?"

Wendy looked up from her muddy shoeprint, a hint of worry in her eyes. "I thought you wanted me to."

"No, I did," Bebe assured her. "But, I mean…did you? Want to?"

Wendy nodded, her eyes falling back down to the sidewalk. "Yeah. I did."

"Alright." Bebe licked her lips. "Good to know."

Wendy brushed a lock of dark hair from her eyes, eyes cast downward as she smiled almost shyly.

If there was one thing Wendy was not, it was shy, so the expression seemed strange and foreign on her face. It was charming, in a way, Bebe thought, because she knew that _she_ was the cause of it. She wondered if she was wearing a similar expression, and if Wendy thought it was charming on her. She shook her head, banishing the thought.

Bebe coughed in attempt to break the silence, then jerked her head toward the entrance to the gas station.

"What's taking him so long?"

Wendy shrugged.

"Well he should hurry his ass up before I get…"

Just then, the door to the Pump 'n' Go swung open, and a young man who looked to be in his early twenties strolled out. He approached Wendy, nodding a greeting at her.

"Did you get them?"

He reached into his plastic shopping back and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tossing them to Wendy.

"Thanks."

Wendy pounded the pack against her palm, and the young man shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at her expectantly.

She glanced up at him. "What? You want some money? How much?"

He raised his hands in refusal. "They're on me."

Bebe raised an eyebrow.

Wendy shrugged, tearing the plastic off the box.

"How old are you?" he asked, finally.

Wendy shoved the crumpled plastic into her coat pocket. "Seventeen."

"So next year you'll be eighteen?"

"Yea for math," Bebe sang under her breath.

"And then I'll be able to buy my own cigarettes," Wendy replied, flipping the pack open and pulling out a smoke, lifting her eyebrows in an expression that clearly meant, "What's your point?"

The man scratched the back of his neck, raising his shoulders in a pathetic shrug. "You have a phone number or something?"

Wendy stared at him, her unlit cigarette dangling from her lips. "No."

"I bought you cigarettes," he pointed out.

"So I owe you…what? Sex?"

"All I asked for was your phone number."

Wendy shook her head, pulling the cigarette from her mouth and sliding it back into the carton. "You're barking up the wrong tree, dude."

She held out the pack toward the man, who stared at them confusedly. "I don't smoke…"

"And I don't sell myself for cigarettes."

Without another word, Wendy shoved the box into the man's hand and stalked off down the sidewalk. Bebe pushed herself off the wall and took a few steps toward the young man, holding out her hand with her palm facing up. He placed the pack of cigarettes in her hand, wordlessly.

"You're not gonna ask me for my number?"

He frowned. "Can I have your…?"

"Oh, like you'd call me anyways, you shallow piece of crap."

He stared at her, stunned. "I didn't…"

"No worries. I'm just messing," Bebe cut him off, slipping the box into her pocket. She gave him a condescending pat on the shoulder before jogging off after Wendy.

* * *

><p>Bebe and Wendy sat cross-legged, face to face on Wendy's bed, Bebe's makeup bag open at her side. Bebe worked on Wendy's face mostly in silence, the only noise in the room coming from Wendy's yellow lab and gray tabby kitten, who were gnawing at opposite ends of a plastic soda bottle.<p>

They were best friends, Wendy's cat and dog. Buttercup, the Labrador, was old and patient, while Gizmo, the kitten, was energetic and excitable and eager to try anything Buttercup did. He could barely get his tiny jaw around the plastic bottle cap, and was attempting to dig his claws into the bottle to get a better grip.

"Close your eyes," Bebe instructed, tapping her eye shadow brush on the edge of the jar.

Wendy obeyed, pinching her eyes closed tightly.

"Sleeping beauty," Bebe reminded her, and Wendy relaxed her face.

Bebe swept the dark brown color over the deep crease of Wendy's eyelids, admiring her friend's features. The prominent cheekbones, the sharp jaw line. The protruding collarbone and the deep hollow at the bottom of her neck. Bebe's own bones didn't show the way Wendy's did. They were softened by an extra layer of padding.

Bebe closed the jar of eye shadow and twisted open a tube of mascara. "Okay, open," she instructed.

Wendy's eyes flew open, and she smiled sweetly at Bebe. "Am I beautiful yet?"

"You're always beautiful," Bebe replied, matter-of-factly, as she wiped a clump of congealed mascara from the end of her mascara brush. "Look up."

Wendy lifted her eyes toward the ceiling, and Bebe went to work at her lashes.

"You spending the night tonight?" Wendy asked, allowing herself to blink when Bebe pulled the mascara brush away.

"Are you propositioning me?"

"Shut up. You know I'm not," Wendy replied, looking up again as Bebe applied mascara to the other eye. "My parents will be upset about my trip to the principal, and they're easier to deal with when you're here."

Bebe nodded, closing her tube of mascara. "I'll call my mom later and let her know I'm staying over." She tossed her mascara back into her makeup bag. "Your face is done."

Wendy swung her legs over the side of her bed, hopping to the floor and nearly landing on Gizmo, who jumped away just in time. The kitten hissed at her, irritably.

"Sorry, Giz," Wendy said, scooping up the kitten and stroking his neck. He twisted out of her grasp and jumped back down to the floor, rejoining Buttercup and the plastic bottle. "Stupid cat," Wendy muttered, strolling over to her mirror to inspect her reflection.

Bebe eased herself off of Wendy's bed, wandering over to her desk to look at the stack of tagboard that lay there. She flipped absent-mindedly through the stack of pencil-drawn comic pages. Wendy hadn't started inking these ones yet, and they still showed all of the drawing lines, but Bebe could already tell this one would be a masterpiece. Wendy drew with such skill, with such attention to detail, that even her unfinished pages came to life.

Bebe came across what must have been the front cover, and couldn't help but smile.

"I'd wear eye shadow every day," Wendy told her from across the room, "if I could put it on the way you do."

"You do it well enough on paper," Bebe replied, holding up from the cover of Wendy's unfinished comic and turning to face her.

A female figure graced the page, hands grasping the wires of a chain-link fence as she stared off at something in the distance. Her round face wore a pensive frown, and her unruly mess of tangles blew lightly in the breeze.

Wendy eyed her through her reflection in the mirror, a look of horror registering on her face. "You can't look at that! I…I haven't even inked it yet."

"Not to mention it's about me," Bebe replied.

Wendy spun around, crossing the room to snatch the page away from Bebe. "You're so vain, Bebe, if you think this comic is about you."

"I know it's me, Wends. You'll only hurt my feelings if you deny it."

Wendy shrugged, placing the cover back down atop the stack of comic book pages on her desk. "I suppose that character resembles you in some ways. I might have given her your hair…"

Wendy reached up behind Bebe's head and tugged the hair band away, letting Bebe's curls tumble down to her shoulders. Bebe caught Wendy's hand before it could drop back to her side, tangling their fingers together. Wendy swallowed.

From outside Wendy's bedroom, the girls heard a door slam, followed by the shouting of two voices. Wendy winced. Buttercup whined.

"…_forth time this month I've gotten a call from her principal…"_ Bebe picked up from the conversation. Wendy's mother.

"Hooray," Wendy whispered. "My parents are home."

"Ignore them," Bebe told her, gripping her hand tighter.

"That's what they do to me, after all," Wendy replied.

Bebe offered her a small smile. "I don't know how anyone could ignore you if they tried."

"It's not about you."

Bebe frowned. "Huh?"

"The comic," Wendy clarified. "It's not about you. It's about me."

"Oh," Bebe responded slowly. "Who are you? In the comic, I mean."

"I'm a girl with no clue, thrown into a crazy world and expected to save the planet."

"And who am I?" Bebe asked.

"You're the one who saves me."


End file.
